2002-11-15 - 11:14 p.m.Well....the results are in: it is indeed exhausting to drive around the Napa Valley (wine country) all day.....drinking champagne! We put a lot of hard research into this....going from winery to winery.....sampling and tasting.....sipping and drinking. And we have arrived at the conclusion that it is now to dangerous to blog! (You know what they say...."never drink and blog"). Our regularly scheduled blog will be continued tomorrow.

2002-11-14 - 11:07 p.m.
Well I don't have anything too exciting to post tonight. My original plan for this week was to go back up to Astoria so that my tenant/contractor could start work on the back of the building. But, as it turns out, he's in Kansas right now! And actually, I'm kinda relieved! I know there's a lot of work we need to get done....but I am not looking forward to it at all! And I really~really~really don't want to go back up there in the winter...(I mean, right now!!) So it's sorta good~sorta bad! Tomorrow maybe I'll know a little more.....he's a hard person to get in touch with....you have to leave messages....then ....if you're lucky...he'll call you back....or other people will call back and leave messages. So, we'll see.

Most likely, I'm heading back to Los Angeles in the next couple of days (yay!).....I know, I shouldn't be saying "yay!"....but...( yay!)

OK....so when we bought the tickets to the Stones, we decided to make a real deal of it and also get a hotel room near the stadium where they were playing. (Yes, I know, we have a house only 15 miles from the stadium....but that does not mean we are close.....it can actually take up to two hours to drive that far during peak traffic)! We thought by getting a hotel, we could go early and avoid all the traffic and parking woes......and have a luxurious time of it.....since that is my whole goal in life!

Well....to make a long story short.....it took us two hours to get there (of course!), and when we got there, they did not have our reservation! The internet site we had made our reservationg through had screwed up....big time!!! And the whole city was sold out! Fortunately the hotel offered to store our bags for us while we were at the concert.

We ate a quick meal at the hotel (the highlight being Lobster Cones...three small ice cream cone shaped appetizers....stuffed with lobster and avocado in a cream sauce....mmmmm!)......then we got a cab and dashed off to the event.

First thing.....eveyone is searched.....and there is a long list of things you're not supposed to have....but the silly thing is.....out of all the things I had (many of them not allowed....shhhh!) the only thing they confiscated from me was an un-opened bottle of water!

The next big hurdle was finding our seats! And at one point.....we got separated, and I was sure we would never find eachother again! Argh! It was very very very crowded....and nearly impossible to find any directions to our seats. Anyway....we did make it.....but it was such an ordeal that we decided to leave early. We knew that if we stayed all the way till the end, it would be an insane madhouse trying to get out of there. And it was actually great to leave early....the whole time we were leaving we could hear them play. Even when we got outside, we could hear them loud and clear (it was an open air stadium). There were crowds of people around outside....and many boats in the canal....all enjoying the concert.

So what were the Stones like???!!! Well, it always amazes me that they are close to my father's age! Mic is still the wild one on stage....but, I think he is slowing down a bit.....just a bit. Not running around and dancing as much as he was when I saw him 10 years ago.....but still much more energenic that I think I could be! The rest of the group is very very wrinkly.....but they've still got it. Keith and Ron still have cigarettes hanging out of their mouths the whole time they play......and they don't move around much.....but all together, the band seemed very strong. You'd be hard pressed to find a band that could out do the Stones. They just don't make 'm like that anymore!

The Rolling Stones! Well, of course they were fabulous!.....and I want to tell you all about it.....but I'm trying to sort out some technical difficulties. Stay tuned tomorrow....I promise I'll be back up and running!